Team:UGA-Georgia/Public Engagement
Public Engagement
The UGA iGEM team aims to engineer a biosensor for detecting aflatoxin B1, a highly carcinogenic mycotoxin that grows on peanuts, legumes, corn and other grains. Despite the risks poses for human health of aflatoxin B1, it is not possible to eradicate these contaminants entirely because of the mycotoxin’s natural growth. Maximum admissible levels have been established globally; however, the request for diagnostic methods to assess obedience to the established regulations and to screen for the mycotoxins in food is a worldwide priority. Because Georgia is the number-one peanut-producing state in the United States, we recognize the regional importance of aflatoxin B1 contamination. One of the primary ways in which Aflatoxin B1 is detected in peanut crops is through the physical separation of contaminated peanuts. Currently, the analytical methods for detecting aflatoxin B1 require special equipment and professional personnel, as well as being costly and time-consuming. The UGA iGEM team is developing an aptamer based biosensor that could allow for the detection of aflatoxin B1 through fluorescence. This will make the separation of contaminated peanuts easier and will reduce the economic impact of this fungal toxin in one of Georgia’s biggest agricultural industries. In order to utilize this technique of detecting contaminated peanuts, we will be working to genetically modify bacteria. Using the genetically-modified organism to detect aflatoxin B1 will be cheaper and easier, while remaining efficient and harm-free. Because Georgia is the number-one peanut-producing state in the United States, we recognize the regional importance of aflatoxin B1 contamination. Currently, the analytical methods for detection requires costly equipment and professionally trained personnel, who can only sample on a small scale. Toxin contamination is reduced by the separation of product which only appears moldy or possibly contaminated. The UGA iGEM team is developing an in vivo aptamer based biosensor that could detect aflatoxin B1 and report with protein fluorescence. This will allow the separation of contaminated product to be more accurate, which will reduce the economic impact of this fungal toxin. The E. coli chassis is easy to work with, and protein fluorescence is easy to visualize. Using the genetically-modified organism to detect aflatoxin B1 will be cheaper and easier than current methods, while remaining accurate and harm-free.
Outreach: Let’s learn science!
We decided to go to several local elementary school after-school programs to educate the students on bacteria through fun experiments. Using the experiments, we showed children that bacteria is located everywhere including their own bodies, and explained to the children that not all bacteria is harmful to their health. We hope that our lessons encouraged students to pursue a future in STEM, have a good fundamental knowledge in sciences, and more importantly, have a safe but fun time learning!
In addition, we presented at UGA’s “First-Year Odyssey Seminar” class to talk about synthetic biology, and encourage students to pursue research.
Future endeavors
We plan to bring the aflatoxin B1 biosensor to farmers across Georgia and show them the functionality and importance of detecting the mycotoxin in peanut plants. We can then implement this process of screening peanuts around the entire region.
